Syndergaard battered despite gift homer as Cards top Mets

By David Solomon

|Hartford Courant|

Apr 21, 2019 | 7:10 PM

Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard rounds the bases after hitting his fifth career homer, but he struggled on the mound, allowing six runs, four earned, and eight hits in five innings. (Jeff Roberson / AP) (Jeff Roberson/AP)

ST. LOUIS — Paul Goldschmidt drove in two runs and Noah Syndergaard had better luck at the plate than on the mound, hitting a homer with Dexter Fowler’s help as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the New York Mets 6-4 on Sunday.

Syndergaard (1-2) allowed six runs, four earned, and eight hits in five innings, but his most memorable play came while batting in the fourth. He hit a deep fly to center that Fowler leaped for on the warning track even though it was well below the fence. The ball deflected off Fowler’s glove and over the fence for Syndergaard’s fifth career homer and first since Aug. 16, 2016, at Arizona.

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It was one of four homers on the day for the Mets, but that wasn’t enough for Syndergaard, who has allowed at least five runs in his last two starts after not having given up five in a game since April 30, 2017, at Washington.

Dakota Hudson (1-1) allowed three runs and five hits in five innings, striking out five, for his first career victory as a starter. He went 4-1 in 26 appearances, all in relief, as a rookie last season. Jordan Hicks pitched a scoreless ninth for his fifth save in six chances.

Robinson Cano homered for the Mets but left in the seventh inning after he was hit in the right hand by a pitch from Andrew Miller. Third base umpire Paul Emmel ruled that Cano swung before the ball hit his hand and called the pitch a strike, and then Mets manager Mickey Callaway was ejected for arguing the call. The ejection was the third of Callaway’s career. X-rays on Cano’s hand were negative.

Pete Alonso and Michael Conforto also homered for New York, which lost two of three at St. Louis.

Kolten Wong’s RBI single in the second tied the score at 1-1, and he advanced to second after Brandon Nimmo’s throw to the plate wasn’t cut off. Hudson reached on an error to load the bases, and Goldschmidt singled two batters later to make it 3-1.

The Cardinals went ahead 5-1 on Molina’s RBI groundout and Fowler’s run-scoring double in the fourth.

Before the game, the Mets recalled LHP Daniel Zamora and optioned Saturday’s starter, RHP Chris Flexen, to Triple A Syracuse. Zamora went 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA in 16 appearances last season.

Alonso, who was hit on the right wrist by a pitch Saturday, was back in the starting lineup for the Mets.